With the remnants of Halloween still lurking around neighborhoods across the length and breadth of the country, it’s tempting to come up with a few scary facts about mobile marketing in today’s blog. This is not to say mobile is scary. What’s really scary is the fact that even though you are highly-likely to be reading this post on a mobile device like a tablet or smartphone, a whopping 32% of companies have NOT integrated mobile marketing into their overall marketing strategy (salesforce.com says 68% have). Indeed, what keeps the folks at InTarget up at night are more shockers like 29% of marketers believe mobile is not central to their business and 42% of companies do NOT have a dedicated mobile marketing team. Forget the monsters hiding under the bed, they’re in boardrooms across the country with their eyes shut and their brains closed to mobile marketing’s potential. Let’s not dwell on the mobile spooky and rather focus on the mobile positive today. In this regard, InTarget would like to share three mobile tips with those of us who have recognised the awesome power and potential of mobile marketing. These are originally fromSmallBizTrends.com, and tweaked by us for local readers: Once you’ve made the decision to go mobile, decide to also implement a mobile customer loyalty scheme. You’ll need to do some Googling but there are many different ideas for different industries that you can replicate. For example, a restaurant reservation app might offer some kind of dining rewards program. Secondly, research what local mobile directories your business can join. For South African firms, Google Local and Yelp are well-used...

Even though impressive mobile marketing-related facts are regularly trotted out by the industry such as more people worldwide access the web via mobile browsers compared to desktop, some brands still think mobile is not for them. This is really unfortunate – especially in a mobile crazy, high potential country like the 55 million citizen South Africa. Firstly, let’s clarify what mobile marketing is really all about. According to a recently-released book of the same name, mobile is not a channel like social media, outdoor advertising or search; it is something that impacts all of the other marketing channels. Here at InTarget, we love that description because it clarifies that mobile ties it all together. In today’s hyperconnected world, mobile is the marketing glue that holds all of the consumer’s purchase-related decisions and actions together. While most of us would be familiar with mobile marketing through such obvious mobile tools as SMS, Please Call Me and location-based advertising; mobile is so much more. According to ‘Mobile Marketing’, it includes strategies and tools such as beacons, IM chatbots, virtual reality, mobile search, near-field communications (NFC) and more. Unfortunately, for SMEs and mid-sized owner-run businesses, terms like those listed above can make mobile marketing and advertising seem daunting. Take it from us: mobile is not only for large enterprises. With an experienced mobile specialist like InTarget, the small business owner will be talking the mobile business lingo like a pro in no time and generating the type of tangible business outcomes that make mobile campaigns so essential in challenging times. Speak to us about evaluating your SME’s current mobile marketing practices so...

We’ve said before that mobile marketing runs on numbers. What also true is that words grease the wheels of business – and specifically, quotes. Businesspeople the world over do seem to love a wise word or two, and especially when it’s delivered in the form of quotable quotes. A particularly quotable quote that I came across this morning while researching the topic of today’s blog is this one that I just love from Entrepreneur Magazine: “If you’re not being smart about reaching your customers via mobile, you’re leaving a ton of money on the table.” Toby Nwazor, a consumer goods marketer, came up with this one. It’s great because it states in no uncertain terms that we’re dealing with money here – real cash that’s being completely thrown away if you’re ignoring mobile marketing. There are three ‘must have’ mobile marketing practices that companies absolutely must adopt if they’re not to go the way of that venerable, 160 year old soon-to-be-extinct retail store, Stuttafords. InTarget can advise on all of these, so while we won’t go into detail here, you’re welcome to discuss them with us in much greater detail over really great coffee: 1. Location-based marketing is truly here. We can help you send notifications to current and potential customers via text and other mobile technologies who live or work within a certain radius of the locations relevant to your brand. 2. In-app marketing offers the most personalised engagement possible with consumers. This drives retention, loyalty and lifetime value. This one is fantastic because you’ve already captured the customer and simply need to deepen the engagement. 3. SMS...